Brandon Marshall picks up new endorsement after losing two following anthem kneel

Posted by Curtis Crabtree on September 15, 2016, 12:47 AM EST

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Denver linebacker Brandon Marshall lost a pair of endorsements after electing to take a knee during the national anthem prior to last Thursday’s regular season opener between the Broncos and Carolina Panthers.

Now he’s getting another endorsement opportunity and isn’t sweating the change.

After losing CenturyLink and Air Academy Credit Union as paid endorsements, entertainment mogul Russell Simmons has reached out to Marshall to get him to endorse “RushCard,” which is a prepaid Visa card.

“I spoke with Russell Simmons,” Marshall said in quotes distributed by the Broncos. “They’re endorsing me, The Rush Card and he said he was going to speak with me today. I spoke with him the last two days. He’s going to talk to me today about the parameters of the deal, what it comes with. I lost two, but I gain one.”

Marshall said he knew he could face repercussions from sponsors for taking a knee and was ready for those consequences. While he was still a bit surprised when sponsors did leave, he’s now glad to have a sponsor that believes in the cause he is trying to bring attention toward.

“I didn’t breach my contract. I didn’t get arrested, I didn’t do anything to defame the team or CenturyLink or Air Academy. I just exercised my first amendment rights and they drop me for that,” Marshall said. “So for Russell Simmons to come up and step in, I think that’s great. I’m proud of what I did because I didn’t do anything that’s wrong or hurtful by any stretch.”

Marshall also said he doesn’t plan to kneel forever. He will stand for the anthem again when he feels it makes sense to him to do so.

“Whenever I stand up, I’ll stand up and I think it’ll be a good thing and I think I’ll make an impact,” he said. “I’m trying to make an impact in the community as well. When I do stand up it’ll be because kneeling really was just to bring attentions to the issues, an awareness factor, a symbol, so to speak, just like the flag is a symbol. That’s really what everything’s about. It’s not about kneeling; it’s about other things, so now I’m doing the donation thing and I’m going to do other things to back up my kneeling.”

Boy is this an interesting intersection of sociology and business practices. Simmons is a pretty savvy business man as he’s been behind a number of successful endeavors.

RushCard is almost exclusively designed for and marketed to low income people who have terrible credit–or can’t get any type of credit–so they use these types of cards whenever a situation arises when a credit card is needed or using a credit credit is more convenient.

Many of these people are minorities and they feel disenfranchised by an type of ‘establishment’ on any number of issues.

Marshall will be not be seen as any type of adversary with these people and he’ll be viewed as someone who is ‘just like them’ even though from a financial aspect they’re on polar opposites of the income scale.

Marshall was ‘raising awareness’ against ‘the establishment’ for those who he feels have been overlooked or forgotten about.

RushCard is now here to save you and help you because all the traditional banking avenues have overlooked and forgotten you. But not RushCard. And we’ll happily extend you no real credit and charge you for every transaction you make and a monthly ‘maintenance’ fee.

Say whatever you want about anything that’s going on with any number of social issues, but I’m forever captivated by how the overarching and broad theme that is the human condition, finds itself into absolutely every aspect of day-to-day life from sports to business, to politics and everything in between.

Yeah pro athletes make money and then donate it… But the system they donate to is corrupt and the donations never make it to the ones that really need it. Everyone starts their own charities and they pay someone to run them (or rip them off). So the athlete isn’t making any community impact. Donating their TIME and EFFORTS will go just as far if not further than just doing “the donation thing”. Until you step up and put in the time then to me your kneeling means absolutely nothing.

My grandfather told me the other day while discussing protests for his perspective. He’s a retired Sheriff. He said, “Actions speak louder than words. But if you act without a known message then your acts get dismissed as attention seeking.” He then went on to later say… “The current protests of inconveniencing others and all the National Anthem stuff are examples of people protesting without a clear message so in the end the message is not going to bring about any change.”

Uh, Brandon, they are not endorsing you. I don’t know if you understand this process. They want you to endorse their prepaid Visa card. It works like this, if someone recognizes you when you say something nice about the product , they might be more likely to use that product. Here is the funny/painful part of all this: Prepaid credit cards are usually a really bad deal, and are only used by the uninformed. The circle is complete.

So a guy kneeling for social justice gets an endorsement gig for one of the highest price prepaid cards on the market, a card riddled with fees targeted to low income, under banked minorities taking even more of their money that they can ill afford to give up. Makes sense.

Too bad the Rush Card is something that is marketed to poor minorities that has much higher fees than similar products. Just because the rich guy making the money off it is the same race doesn’t make it better. There are others who offer better options and alternative banking solutions, including local and minority owned.

Somebody needs to tell Marshall that you can’t be socoially conscience AND endorse the Rush Card. That card is ine of the biggest ripoffs of poor people around. It charges a monthly fee and a $1 fee EVERYTIME you use it.

“I’m trying to make an impact in the community as well. When I do stand up it’ll be because kneeling really was just to bring attentions to the issues, an awareness factor, a symbol, so to speak, just like the flag is a symbol.
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The ‘ol “bring awareness” line. I’m pretty sure everyone is aware, unless they haven’t watched the news in two+ years. All you do is create more division.

Kudos to Russ. It’s time the community come together at all cost. Don’t be perturbed by fear of losing American $$$. It’s the only thing they have to hold over our heads. Luckily, most of us don’t come from wealth, so we’re not a culture of greed.

Being endorsed by Rush Cards is like being endorsed by a bail bond, or pawn shop. In other words: by companies who take advantage of the poor and financially crippled. This demographic majority of the folks who use Rush Cards, are the same folks who support Marshall’s disgraceful disrespect of the national anthem of the country that gave him the opportunity to become wealthy. The ironies of this is as huge as it is laughable.

First off I love B.M. – go broncos – But I don’t see how him endorsing this “rip off ” card for low income people is making a difference . He won’t salute the flag of our government ( which gives checks to people not able to survive without assistance ) .. But he will lend his name to a card that exploits ( poor ) people for excessive charges … I hope every time they have to pay $17.95 to put money on there rush card , That they take a minute to remember how Brandon Marshall stood up for social equality . whoo-hoo
go broncos